A Case Report of Giant Retroperitoneal Paraganglioma

Jiro Okami, Naohiro Tomita, Takushi Monden, Masayuki Ohue, Akinao Haba, Mitsugu Sekimoto, Takashi Shimano, Morito Monden, Haruki Fukuda*, Yoshitaka Akabane

Department of Surgery II and Division of Surgical Pathology*, Osaka University Medicial School Department of Surgery, PL hospital

We experienced a case of giant retroperitoneal paraganglioma. The patient, a 44-year-old man, was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonographic examination without any subjective complaints. Abdominal angiography showed marked hypervascularity of the tumor. Angiogenic malignant tumor was suspected and the tumor was resected under general anesthesia. Blood loss during the operation was over 20,000 ml and a massive transfusion was needed. Neither symptoms nor abnormal laboratory findings related to the putative endocrine activity of the tumor could be seen during the hospital stay. Paraganglioma is relatively rare among retroperitoneal tumors. Eighty-five cases have been reported so far in the Japanese literature. It is thought that paragnglioma should be added to the differential diagnosis of the retroperitoneal tumors because some criticai ill patients were reported to develop sudden endocrine symptoms. Considering the high frequency of hypervascularity of retroperitoneal paraganglioma, it is thought that preoperative angiography is important not only for diagnosis but also for preparation for possible massive bleeding during the operation.

Key words
retroperitoneal tumor, paraganglioma, hypervascularity

Reprint requests
Jiro Okami Department of Surgery, Yao Municipal Hospital
2-1-55 Minamitaishidou, Yao, 581 JAPAN

Accepted
May 8, 1996

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